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Browse every tracked card in Base Set with live prices, 24h moves, and collector details. Use Hits and Chase when you want a focused view of the set.
Release date, card count, chase cards and how it compares with the WOTC era.
Base Set sits at the very start of the WOTC era, the expansion that opened the English-language Pokémon TCG's Base series. It released on January 9, 1999 under the set code BS and prints 102 cards, with 102 printings in the catalog. What defines it is the roster of headline Rare cards: Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Mewtwo and Alakazam lead its value ranking. The set leans on Grass, Water, Colorless and Fire Pokémon, covering the starter lines and the original power names of the game.
Base Set uses a plain three-tier ladder of Commons, Uncommons and Rares, and all 16 chase-tier cards come from the Rare tier, with no secret cards above the printed 102. Charizard leads the card list by value, followed by Blastoise, Venusaur and Mewtwo, all Rares. Mitsuhiro Arita illustrated Charizard and Venusaur, while Ken Sugimori illustrated Blastoise and Mewtwo. Value is heavily concentrated: the top five cards alone hold 68 percent of the set's total card value, which makes the most valuable cards the defining feature of any Base Set run.
Base Set was released January 9, 1999.
Base Set has 102 cards.
Base Set is part of the WOTC era.
16 cards in Base Set sit at one of its hit rarities. See this set's hits page for the full breakdown by rarity.
As of October 2026, Base Set holds the 14th highest total card value of the 16 comparable WOTC sets, about 0.6 times the era median, and 67th across the whole game. Its single most valuable card ranks 4th in the era, and its trading activity is the busiest of any WOTC set. At 102 printed cards it is about the same size as the era median of 108. Jungle came next on June 16, 1999 and holds more total value. Its cards first appeared in Japan in Expansion Pack, released October 20, 1996, and in the No Rarity version of that set.
Written from market data as of October 22, 2026; the tables update live.
| Measure | This setBase Set | Next setJungle |
|---|---|---|
| Release date | Jan 9, 1999 | Jun 16, 1999 |
| Printed cards | 102 | 64 |
| Master set value | — | $2,516.60 |
| Most valuable card price | — | $272.28 |
| Priced cards | — | 64 of 64 |
Completing Base Set means finding all 102 catalog printings, and every one of them is priced. Because the top five cards hold such a large share of total value, the cost of a full run is dominated by a small group of Rares while the Commons and Uncommons fill in around them. The sealed line is wide, with 16 products across starter decks, booster boxes and booster packs, which gives collectors several ways into the set beyond singles.
Sealed Base Set: all 16 products with prices
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